Door construction



June 1], E E, BEASQN noon CONSTRUCTION Filed July 24, 1935 3 /v VENTORdoua/ad 6 9% A TTORNEV Patented June 11,1940

PATENT OFFICE f noon CONSTRUCTION Edward E. Beason, Kansas City, Mo;,assignor, by direct and mesne assignments, to Jacob H.

Peters, lndependence, Mo.

, Application any 24, 1935, Serial No. 32,842.

lMy invention, relates to improvements in door constructions. It isparticularly well adapted for use in, garagedoor constructions, and is.of

the general type in which the door is swung from .5 a vertical closedposition to an open substantially horizontal position overhead.

Oneof the objectsof my inventionis to provide novel, means for,pivotally mounting the doorso that it may be easily and quickly raise-dH}; or lowered, which improvedmeans adapts itself totdoors of differentwidths and heights, and which holds the door securely in the openposition andpreventsits accidental opening.

The novel features, cf my invention are hereinafter fullydescribed andclaimed. l

In the; accompanying drawing, which ,illustrates the preferredembodimentof my invention:

,Fig.;1 is a vertical section on theline i--l of 2.Fign 3 showing thedoorin closed position in solid lines, and in open position in dottedlines.

of the swinging arms and its connections. Fig. 3 is an inside elevation,partly broken away, showing the door closed. v

Fig, 4 is a section on the plane of the line. AB showing the otherswinging supporting arm and its connections. H

0;, Fig. ;5,1is an enlarged section onthe line 5,- -5 of Fig.1, showingone of the supporting guiding rollers and parts connectedptherewithp andFig. Bis an enlarged view showing in inside elevation one of theguiding: rollers and a portion of the doonthe guiding channel beingshown in cross section. I

Similar characters of. reference designate simi-.-

lar parts in the different views. l V I designates, opposite, walls ofthe garage, 2 the doorway thereof adapted to be closed by the usualgarage door 3,,which is provided with means by which itcan be swung fromthe closed vertical on the samehorizontal transverse axis on asup port,which, as shown consists of two vertical,

posts 4 at the inner side of the door and at op posite sidesrespectively of the doorway 2. flhe swinging arms are alike in structureand 1 Claims. (01. ze -19) mode of operation, excepting that they arerelated as right and left. a Eachswinging supportingarmis provided withan inner tubular member 5 having a horizontal ,axial portion 6, which ispivoted in a bearing I .5, u fastened to. the front or outer" side ofthe adjacentpost 4. Each armis provided with another member 8 which islongitudinally adjustable with respect tothefmemberi and which, asshown, consists of a bar adjustable longitudinally in the 1 tubular endportion of the member 5, to which it can be .releasably locked bymeansof a transverse pin 9, adapted tobe disposed in a. hole. in. thememberil and in any one of a longitudinal rowofholes l0 extendingthrough the member 5 transversely. The pin 9 at one end is threaded andhas on it a nut I I. Its other end is provided withaneyel2. l

The end of the member 5 .whichiis pivoted in the bearing 1, viz, theaxial portion 6, is threaded g0 and has fitted on it a nut 13 to holdthe member from sliding out of the bearing. The outer ends of themembers Bare respectively provided with horizontal transverse alinedextensions I4 which, extend toward each other 25 l and are respectivelypivoted in bearings 15 fastened to the inner side of the door 3. Theaxis of the extensions I4 is parallel with, the axis of the axialportions 6 of the members 5, and,

preferably, saidaxes are in substantially the same 30.

' maximum of strength. i

For enabling the swinging door supporting arms 5- -8to swing as one unitto prevent cramp- 40, ing or binding of the door 3 when it is swung toor from the open position, connecting means are provided between theextensions M. In the form of invention shown, such connecting meanscomprises a transverse horizontal tube I 6, which may be in theform of asection of pipe Fig. 3, disposed between the bearings I5 and into theends of which respectively extend the extensions [4. I

To look the extensions Hi to the tube l6, and to enable the extensionsbeing adjusted toward an, and from each other, to adapt them todifferent widths of doors to which they may be applied, the

end portions of the tube It are respectively provided with longitudinalrows ofholes 11. Two

pins [8. are respectively removably inserted jacent row.

' abling their lengthwise adjustment in the bearings it for substantialdistances, to accommodate instances where the supports comprising theposts 4 may be required to be set a distance apart considerably greaterthan the width of the'doorway 2.

For partially counterbalancing the Weight of the door 3, two coilsprings l9 have one setof ends respectively attached to two clamps 20respectively fastened to the outer end portions of the members 5. i

The other ends of the coil springs H) are respectively attached to twobolts 2| longitudinally adjustable respectively intwo brackets 22respectively'fastened to the posts 4. The bolts 2! have respectivelymounted on them two adjustable nuts 23 which respectively bear againstthe up-- g per sides of the brackets 22. The brackets 22 are disposedhigher than and to {the rear of the axis of'the members 5, whereby thesprings l9 will, when the door tis closed, exerta tension tending toswing the members Sand with them the door 3 upwardly'and inwardly towardthe open position. 7 v

As shown in Figs. 1' and 4, each clamp 20 embraces and grips acylindrical portion of the member 5,. of the swinging supporting arm,and as it is a clamp, it canbe adjusted lengthwise of and to any desiredposition on said cylindrical portion, for adapting the spring 19,attached to the clamp, to the weight of the particular doorto bepartially counterbalanced.

Forinwardly guiding the upper end of the door 3, when it is swungupwardly on its swinging supporting arms, so that in the fully openposition itwill be in a substantially horizontal overhead position, asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, there are mountedon the door 3respectively adjacent to its upper corners and upon its inner side, twobearings 24 in which are respectively longitudinally adjustably mountedtwo horizontal alined rods 25, which are respectively heldinthepositions, to whichthey may be adjusted by two set screws 26 fitted inthreaded holes in the bearingsfil. v

' Rotatably mounted on the rods 25 atthe outer ends, thereof aretworollers 21 disposed in two channel bars 28, which serve. as guides forthe rollers 27 adapted for travel therein. The channelbars 28 areparallel with each other at oppo tically at oppositeedges of the doorway2 at the inner side thereof.

[For lifting'the door to swing it from the vertical closed positiontothe open overhead position, it has fastened to. its inner and outersides thetwo handles 36 and 3|.

, @W'hen'the d ors is lifted fromthe closed position, the arms 5-8 willswing upwardly with the door, the upper end of which will be guided bythe rollers 27 in the channelpguides 28 so as to move inwardly, therebyswinging the ,door on 7s its iaxis on theextensions 14. ,Theslightdownward and inward inclination of the channel guides 28 willassist in the ease of swinging the door to the overhead position, and itwill also prevent any tendency of the door to accidentally swingdownwardly to the closed position. However, with the springs l9 given asuitable tension, the channel bars 28 may be disposed horizontally oreven be inclined slightly upward.

. To assist in swinging the upperend of the door inwardly when the dooris-being opened, I provide two coil springs 32 which have their lower orinner ends attached to the eyes 12 of the locking pins 9, the other endsof the springs being respectively attached to two screw eyes 33 mountedon the door 3 at the inner side thereof. The tension of the springs 32is such as to normally tend, but of itself to be insufficient, to pullthe door 3 inwardly at its upper end.

Where the space is quite restricted, and where it is desired to disposethe axis of the arms 58 at substantially the height shown, while stillkeeping the springs IQ of considerable length, the members 5 may havecrank portions 34 extended downwardly from the axial portions 6 at theinner sides of the bearings 1', as best shown in Fig. 1. i i

In the operation of the door to swing it from the closed to the openoverhead position, a person on the inside can grasp the handle 30, or aperson at the outer side can grasp the handle 3| to lift the door. Thesprings l9 and the springs 32 aid in raising the door and swinging it tothe open position. v

To close the door, the operator grasps the handle and pulls forwardlyand downwardly upon it, and this force, assisted by the gravity of thedoor after it has'been started downwardly, results in descent of thedoor to the vertical closed position.

By adjusting the nuts 23 on the bolts 2! the tension of the springs l9may be adjusted to properly correspond with the weight of the door.

The lengths of the arms 5-8 may be adjusted, as has been described, tosuit the height of the door and the height at which it is desired thatthe axis of the arms shall be.

Many modifications of my invention, within the scope of the appendedclaims, may be made without departing from the spiritof my invention.

H What I claim is:

1; In a door construction, the combination with a' door, a. support atthe inner side thereof, and

sup-porting means pivotedon parallel horizontal transverse axes to saiddoor and to said support, whereby said door may be swung inwardly at itsupper end from a vertical closed position to an open position above saidsupporting means, of a guide at the inner side of said door whichinclines from its outer end inwardly and downwardly in a plane at rightangles to said axes, and means onsaid door having traveling engagementwith said guide and disposed above the axis of said door. i

2. 'In a door construction, the combination with a door, and a supportatthe inner side thereof, of a swinging supporting arm pivoted to saiddoor and to said support on parallel horizontal transverse axes, and aspring attached to said arm and to said door above, the axis of saiddoor on saidarm and normally. exerting a tension tending, but of itselfinsufficient, to swing in- Wardly theupper end of said door when thelatter is closed.

3. In a doorconstruction, the combination with a door,ia' support atthe. inner side thereof, a

swinging supporting arm pivoted to said support and to saiddoor onparallel horizontal transverse axes, a guide which inclines from'itsouter end inwardly and downwardly above said axes, and meanson said doorabove the axis of the latter on said arm having travelingengagement withsaid guide, of a spring attached to saidfarm and to said door abovesaidaxis of said door on said arm and exerting normally a tension tending,but'of itself insufficient, to swing inwardly the upper end of said doorwhen said arm is upwardlyswung. 3 l l -4. In a door construction, thecombination with a door, and a support at the inner side thereof,offltwo swinging supporting arms pivoted on the same horizontaltransverse axis to said support andrespectively provided withalinedextensions parallel with said axis and pivoted tosaid door, meansconnecting said extensions by which they maybe made to oscillated witheach other, and a spring attached to one of said arms and to said doorabove the arm towhich it is attached and normally exerting a tensiontending, but of itself insuflicient, to swing inwardlythe upper end ofsaid door when the latter is in the closed position.

5,. In a door construction, the combination with adoor, and a support atthe inner side thereof,

of bearing means on the inner side and substantially at themiddle of theheight of said door, a swinging supporting arm pivoted on a horizontaltransverse axis to said support, and pivoted to saidbearing means on anaxis parallel with said firstnamed axis approximately in the horizontalplane thereof, whereby said door may be swung inwardly at its upper endand on and with said arm from a closed verticalposition to an overheadopen approximately horizontal position, and partial' counterbalancingmeans including a clamp movable lengthwise of and embracing and griparmsbeing parallel and rigid with each other throughthe front or middleportion of the frame,

a pivotal support for the end of each arm, a garage door, and means forremovably bolting the back of the door to the outer side of said frame,so that the dooris movable into an overhead open position, said boltingbeing adjustable to change the distance between said arms, and therebythe width of said frame, for doors of different widths, or for differentdistances between one pivotal support and the other.

7. In a garage door construction, the combination of means forming ahorizontal frame ex-' tending across the inside of the doorway beyondtions, with the end sections adjustable endwise on the middle section,to vary the distance between said arms.

8. In mechanism for pivotally supporting a door for swinging movementupwardly into an doorway, means for pivotally supporting the door onsaid axially aligned arms comprising bearing members for attachment tothe rear surface ofthe door and engaging over said axially aligned armsfor rotation thereon, means coacting with said axially aligned arms andwith said bearing members for'permitting relative inward and'outwardadjustment between said aligned arms and said bearing members to enablethe lateral spacing between said rearwardly extending arms to beadjusted, counterbalancing springsconnected with said rearwardlyextending arms, an upper guide track extending inwardly from saiddoorway, and guide means carried by the upper portion of said door andtravelling along said guide track.

9. In mechanism for pivotally supporting a door for swinging movementupwardly into an overhead open position and downwardly into a verticalclosed position relatively to a doorway,

the combination of two door supporting members adapted to be disposedadjacentto the sides of the door and being of L-shaped configuration toform two axially aligned armsextending toward each otherparallel to thebacksurface: of the doorand to also form two rearwardly extending armsprojecting inwardly from the door, means for pivotally mounting saidrearwardly extending arms on a stationary pivot axis disposed asubstantial distance inwardly from said doorway, means for pivotallysupporting the door on said axially aligned arms comprising bearingmembers for attachment to the rear surface of the door and engaging oversaid axially aligned arms for rotation thereon, means coacting with saidaxially aligned arms andwith said bearing members for permittingrelativeinward and outward adjustment between said aligned arms and saidbearing members to enable the lateral spacing between said rearwardlyextending arms to be adjusted, counterbalancing means connected tocounterbalance a portion of the weight'of said I door, and guide meanscoacting with said door for guiding the opening and closing movementsthereof.

10. In mechanism for pivotally supporting a door for swinging movementupwardly into an overhead open position and downwardly into a verticalclosed position relatively to a doorway, the combination of a section ofpipe extending horizontally across the rear side of the doorsubstantially midway of the height of the door, rod members extendinginto the open ends of said pipe section at each side of the door, meansfor mounting the dooron said pipe section and rod members, said rodmembers being adjustable inwardly and outwardly in the outer ends ofsaid pipe section to adapt the mechanism to different widths of doorsand to different conditions of across the rear side of the doorsubstantially midway of the height thereof, rod members extending intothe open ends of said tube at each side of the door, means, operativelyconnecting the door with said tube and rod members, said rod membersbeing adjustable inwardly and outwardly inthe outer ends of said tube toadapt the mechanism to different conditions of installa tion, armsextending rearwardly from said rod members at each side of the door,means for pivotally mounting said arms on a stationary pivot axisdisposed a substantial distance inwardly from said doorway andcounterbalancing springs connected with said rearwardly extending armsto counterbalance a portion of the weight of said door.

12. In a garage door construction, the combination of a frame extendingtransversely across the doorway beyond the vertical sides of the latter,and comprising a rigid intermediate member and two rigid end members,each having two arms at angles to each other, means rigidly fasteningtwo of said arms of said end members respectively to said intermediatemember, means fastening said frame to one side of the door, and meanspivotally supporting the other two arms, so that the door is movableinto an overhead open position.

. 13. In a garage door construction, the combination of a frameextending transversely across the doorway beyond the vertical sides ofthe latter, and comprising a rigid intermediate member and two angledend members, each of said end members having two arms at angles to eachother, means for removably bolting two of the arms of said end membersrespectively to said intermediate member, said bolting being adjustableto change the distance between said end members, means fastening saidframe to one side of the door, and means pivotally supporting the othertwo arms, so that the door is movable into an overhead open position.

14. In mechanism for pivotally supporting a door for swinging movementupwardly into an overhead open position and downwardly into a verticalclosed position relatively to a doorway, the combination of a section ofpipe extending horizontally across the rear side of the doorsubstantially midway of the height of the door, rod members extendinginto the open ends of said pipe section at each side of the door, meansoperatively connecting the door with said pipe and rod members, said rodmembers being adjustable inwardly and outwardly in the outer ends ofsaid pipe section to adapt the mechanism to different widths of doorsand to difierent conditions of installation, arms extending rearwardlyfrom said rod members at each side of the door, bearing members forpivotally mounting said arms on a stationary pivot axis,which isdisposed a substantial distance inwardly from said doorway and which isparallel with and in approximately the same horizontal plane of saidpipesection when the door is in closed position, said rearwardly extendingarms comprising means enabling the effective lengths of said arms fromsaid pipe section back to said bearing members to be adjusted,counterbalancing springs for counterbalancing a portion of the weight ofthe door, and adjustable connecting members for connecting said springswith said rearwardly extending arms, said connecting members beingadjustable to different positions along said rearwardly extending arms tadjust the action of said springs.-

EDWARD E. BEASON.

